Cherry Red Records is releasing today a fresh remaster of British hard rockers UFO fifteenth album “Covenant”.
Originally appeared 2000’s, the album was published as a limited edition 2-disc album, with disc 1, titled ‘Covenant’, containing entirely new material, and disc 2, titled ‘Live USA’, containing a collection of classics performed live. This “Covenant (2024 Remaster)” contains both.
‘Covenant’ saw the return of Michael Schenker on guitar, as he had left the band in the middle of the Walk on Water tour. Alongside Schenker and vocalist Phil Mogg we find here legendary Pete Way on bass, and renowned Aynsley Dunbar on drums. You can’t go wrong with this line up.
UFO’s roots go all the way back to London in 1968, when vocalist Phil Mogg and bassist Pete Way teamed up with drummer Andy Parker. Building a cult following in Japan and Germany, they finally found their key sound when joined by highly influential German lead guitarist Michael Schenker in 1973. Schenker’s original tenure with UFO came to an end with the release of the ‘Strangers In The Night’ double live LP.
UFO soldiered on with numerous line-ups in the 80s and 90s while Michael formed The Michael Schenker Group, but in 1995 the classic ‘Strangers In The Night’ line-up reformed for a new studio album, ‘Walk On Water’.
The second release from the reunion following ‘Walk On Water’ was ‘Covenant’. Featuring Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker and Pete Way, the line-up was completed by legendary drummer Aynsley Dunbar. Released in 2000, ‘Covenant’ was the 15th album by this British melodic hard rock institution.
The live bonus tracks were recorded on tour in the States to support the 1995 release of the ‘Walk On Water’ album. This time Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker and Pete Way were joined by Simon Wright (Dio, AC/DC) on drums and Paul Raymond on guitar and keyboards. Paul Raymond had also been part of the legendary ‘Strangers In the Night’ band.
Recorded live at Blind Melons, Buffalo, NY, USA on September 11th, 1995, as well as plenty of much-loved UFO classics including ‘Too Hot To Handle’, ‘Rock Bottom’ and ‘Out In The Street’, the recording features ‘Venus’ and ‘Pushed To The Limit’ from the ‘Walk On Water’ album.
The new studio material finds many of the old UFO sounds and trademarks, but is perhaps a bit rawer, both in terms of production and performance.
‘Covenant’ still remain unheard by many classic hard rock aficionados, even UFO / Schenker fans, the album turned pretty hard to find but now this 2024 Remaster give everybody the chance to enjoy this solid, rocking album.
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
01. Love Is Forever (2024 Remaster) (04:22)
02. Unraveled (2024 Remaster) (04:16)
03. Miss The Lights (2024 Remaster) (04:43)
04. Midnight Train (2024 Remaster) (04:55)
05. Fool's Gold (2024 Remaster) (05:35)
06. In The Middle Of Madness (2024 Remaster) (03:47)
07. The Smell Of Money (2024 Remaster) (03:44)
08. Rise Again (2024 Remaster) (04:29)
09. Serenade (2024 Remaster) (05:00)
10. Cowboy Joe (2024 Remaster) (04:13)
11. The World And His Dog (2024 Remaster) (03:35)
12. Mother Mary (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (03:52)
13. This Kids (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (04:07)
14. Let It Roll (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (04:41)
15. Out In The Street (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (05:07)
16. Venus (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (04:51)
17. Pushed To The Limit (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (04:07)
18. Love To Love (Live, USA 2024 Remaster) (07:16)
UFO – Covenant (2024 Remaster), MP3+FLAC
 |
This is not a 2024 remaster. I had this extended version allready in 2019.